The Emperor

by N. M. Brown

  In the peaceful silence of the church, McQueen could hear the gentle ‘coo’ pigeons, and the low hum of the outside, but the was no answer. There never was. But McQueen held onto his faith, that wherever he might pray, whomever he might pray for, somewhere out there someone was listening.

  He spent some time on his knees, allowing the calm serene wash over him like a cooling balm. He didn’t ask for anything else from God, just thanked him for the good and begged for salvation from the bad. McQueen didn’t want a solution, or a quick fix. He just wanted some peace. After what seemed like too long, and without looking back, McQueen left feeling no lighter, but new God had been listening. Time would tell if He answered his prayers though.

  ◆◆◆

  McQueen had no idea Echo had followed him to church until he saw her sat outside, a fierce look of her face. He could tell she was plotting something, and he was sure it involved him. He wasn't lucky enough for it not to be. She still wouldn't tell him the truth, but he'd guessed enough to know a little more than before.

  Walking back to the apartment in silence, the sun had fully risen over the terraced houses and its bright morning light was welcoming. He’d felt… better. He didn’t know why because Anna was still a part of his life and every time he thought of her, he remembered to good times and how they’d so easily fallen in love.

  But now there was a cold ache in his chest alongside those memories and he could just as easily envision her cold façade when she’d returned from the hospital. He’d wanted to give her space; space to morn, to readjust to the new reality… but now he knew that had been a mistake. What if he had stayed beside her, comforting her more in those beginning days focusing less on work. He wondered, had he said anything different, or made better plans would Anna have chosen not to go to that shop in the first place.

  But as the questions settled squarely on his heart, McQueen was hit with the understanding that there was no room for ‘what if.’ God gave people their trials in life to see their strength and resolve. What McQueen decided to do next needed to be based on the now and future. This was a test of his faith, of his resilience and his belief that God had a plan for him.

  “So where are we off to again?” McQueen blinked a realised he been sat in the car; engine running and hadn’t made a move to drive off. With a quick glance at Echo, he thought of his second test of faith.

  “The station.” He answered, pulling out onto the street. “If you really are going to help with this case, we’ll have to get you all caught up.”

  “Yer, yer.” Echo rolled her eyes and slouched in the passenger seat. “Missing kids, dead kids and addictive sweets. I think I’ve got it. Wake me when we get there.” And just like that, she dozed, feet on the dashboard.

  If there was any question McQueen would wish an honest, straight answer for, it was this: what to do with Echo Headly? She was smart and tenacious, which were qualities he could admire, if they weren’t entangled with her innate ability to lie, cheat and her undesirable cut-throat attitude. It went deeper than that too; she was convinced her family were demons in corporeal form. Did that make her unstable? Or was it a fictitious fantasy that was harmless in its design? McQueen had pondered this in Church too, as he had done many times. Were demons real, could he believe in God and Heaven but not the depths of Hell and its own creatures of darkness.

  Echo would happily point out he couldn’t believe in one and not the other. It was naivety if he did.

  Right now, it didn't matter though, the case came first, above everything else. He’d needed to see if there was any news on Johnny. A ransom demand might have been made, or an eyewitness could have come forward. Anything was possible at this stage.

  Just as he was pulling into the narrow one-way street that was attached to the back of the station, the shrill sound of his phone cut through the car. He’d thrown it in the well tucked in front of his gear stick, making the vibrations sound that much more urgent. As he reached for it, quick nibble fingers danced forward with such speed, he grabbed empty air.

  “You’ve reached The First Jack Bank, home to all your jacking needs. You squeeze it, we’ll freeze it?” Echo sang, all her previous bouts of slumber washed away.

  “Echo!” McQueen snapped, trying to reach for the phone.

  “Eyes on the road Queenie!” She ordered, keeping herself well out of his reach. “I’m sorry, we don’t allow for Buy One Get One Free. Can I refer you to the local strip joint instead?”

  “Echo!” McQueen stressed again and made quick work to pull over on the curb. “Hand the phone over!” He snapped.

  Back pressed against the door, Echo smirked her signature smile, the other end of the line crackling with the sound of a shouting voice. After a few ‘u-hu’ and ‘I understand’ later, Echo pushed the phone towards him and winked. “I think the phone is for you Queenie.”

  “Really. You think?” He asked, taking it with shaky hands. If it had been Hale on the phone – or dear Lord someone worse, like the Chief – McQueen was going to run back to Ireland and find a deep, dark cave to live in. “This is Detective McQueen.” He answered, keeping his voice as calm as possible.

  “McQueen, its Reese… Why is that leeching, punchbag answering your phone? And why is she selling sperm? Are starting a side business?”

  McQueen didn’t lie to himself when he released a sigh of relief. “No, Echo’s just… being Echo.” Shaking his head, as Echo threw up a mask of shocked horror. He was really starting to question whether he needed her help at all.

  “Riight… Well, if you’re needing a naughty nurse to help you in your new occupation, I have all the necessary equipment.” McQueen smirked as Reese switched on his full, flaunting charm. “The latex dress, the elbow high rubber gloves, I even made Roman buy us the cute hat and modified stethoscope. I’ll have to show it to you when your home.” He purred and McQueen hoped to God and all his angels that Reese was alone wherever he was on the other end of the line. McQueen could do with a lot less drama in his life and being the subject of a sexy, homosexual fantasy was not about to make his list.

  “Why did you call Reese?” McQueen begged, hoping to quickly move the subject on.

  “Right, fine, fine, fine.” McQueen could hear Reese clicking away and like the flick of a switch, he was all business again. “I just got a message from dispatch that Mr. Bell called and asked for you in person. You weren’t in yet, so I passed the message onto Hale, but he wanted me to call you straight away.”

  McQueen’s stomach dropped five feet, and everything flew from his head. Every problem, every worry, every thought about the future disappeared and everything zeroed in on the next words out of Reese’s mouth.

  “Mr Bell and his wife are at Rodger’s Family Primary School now and they’re both hysterical. Their other son, Mitch Bell has gone missing from school.”

  McQueen profusely swore but was already turning the car on. “Alright. Thanks Reese. Send the directions to my phone and let Hale know I’m on my way.” Tucking his phone between his ear and shoulder, McQueen was distantly aware he was breaking the law, driving while on the phone. “Can you get me every available officer to the primary school and start fanning them out too?”

  “All already done.” Reese said. “I’m going to set out a search parameter, see if I can find them on CCTV camera or get an idea of where they might have gone.”

  “Perfect, Reese. Let me know what you find.” McQueen thanked.

  “Oh, and McQueen.” Reese yelled, catching him before he sighed off. “If you do start this side business, I have a naught nurse, a bad cop and even this real sexy fireman outfit that if you get it wet -,”

  McQueen, with no guilt or reservation, hung up the phone. There was never a bad time to make a joke in Reese’s eyes and McQueen was thankful for it. With every bad turn he found in his life; a little laugher went a long way.

  ◆◆◆

  Mary Bell looked just about dead on her feet when McQueen arrived at Rodger’s Family Primary School. She was
standing, but only just, while a prim young woman was wailing apologies in her ear. Swaying, Mary was clutching a toy train with all her might and staring off into the distance while Mr Bell was by her side, his arms clutched around himself as he watched everyone with a vigilant gaze. He wanted people working, moving as fast as they could and with purpose to find his son. McQueen intended to make that a reality

  Nodding to the other officers collecting statements, McQueen walked straight over to the grieving mother, pulling Mr Bell in close too. “Mrs. Bell, Mr. Bell,” He greeted. “I want to keep this quick so we can get moving fast. Can you tell me what’s happened?”

  But all Mrs. Bell did was blink, her eyes dancing up and down McQueen with confusion. “What-… what are you doing here? You’re meant to be looking for our son! Why aren’t you out there-… why are you-… why are you here… Our sons… both of them…” Mary’s words quickly turned into hysterical sobs.

  George Bell tried to wrap an arm around her, but she shrugged it off with great force and strong resentment. McQueen could see where tears had dribbled down Mr. Bell’s face and it was a testament to the fact he was in no better state than his wife. “What are we going to do?” George whispered and his eyes were already darting around, looking for hope.

  “We’re going to do everything in our power to bring you kids home.” McQueen answered and stepped back. Neither parent was in any state to explain what was going on and as sad as it sounded, he didn’t have time to console them. Time was of the essence now and the more time he wasted; the less time Mitch had.

  “McQueen.” A voice called and turning, he was annoyed to find Detective Armstrong waving him over. Keeping his face neutral, he approached, but struggled to remain calm as Echo kept pace with him. She was a ticking time bomb and he needed to stop forgetting that.

  “So why don’t you like this asshole?” She asked, not keeping her voice down as they approached. “All he did was say you name, and you got you knickers in a bunch.”

  “Nothing.” McQueen answered, slowing down just a tad so he could try and keep her under control. “He’s a fellow Detective, I have nothing be respect for him.” Echo snorted, but McQueen just ignore that. “Look, just keep quiet and observe. Don’t go making smart remarks or pissing anyone off. This is a very high stakes moment, and no one is going to take you shit.”

  “Oh, I know.” Echo agreed and surprised McQueen with what she said next. “Around forty-four percent of children who are taken by a stranger, died within an hour. Seventy-five percent died within three and almost all died in a day. I’d say your chances of finding these Bell boys is slim to none.”

  McQueen shot her a glare. “No pessimism either.”

  There was only a few feet left between McQueen and Armstrong now and the other Detective was still in deep conversation. It grated him slightly that Armstrog thought he was above him; that he could order McQueen around.

  “Detective Armstrong.” McQueen greeted, keeping his voice flat and serious.

  “McQueen. Nice of you to finally join us.” Turning to face him fully, Armstrong was immediately side tracked by the site of Echo, who as asked, was keeping quiet at his side. “You brought a civilian to an active crime scene?” Fire burned behind Armstrong eyes and McQueen wondered how he was going to explain this one.

  As luck would have it though, Hale arrived, coming to stand with them. “McQueen good, we have need of you.” He gave in greeting and only gave Echo a single glance. “Ah, Mrs Headly, good, you’re here also.”

  Armstrong, clearly put out but Hale’s acceptance, felt the need to chip in. “She’s an eyewitness?”

  “No.” McQueen answered, an easy explanation coming to mind. “Echo is a consultant. She’s worked on a pervious case and has offered her services in this one.” McQueen waited for Hale’s contradiction, but when nothing was said, he was happy to continue. “So, what do we know so far?”

  “Mr. Bell dropped Mitch Bell off this morning, as he always does.” Hale answered, “He says he spoke with some of the parents and saw Mitch safely inside the class room, as he does every day. Mr Bell then stats once Mitch was safely inside, he left for work.”

  McQueen nodded, easily keeping up. “And once Mitch was inside, what happened?”

  This time, it was Armstrong who answered. “The teacher, Mrs Barrie says she remembers Mitch coming in because he went and sat by the window. She was worried for him, because he’s done it every morning, looking for his brother. She’s the hysterical one over there.” Armstrong rolled his eyes and McQueen bit his tongue, focusing on the details that he needed. “She explained one child fell over on their way to school and she had to treat a nose-bleed, which drew her away. No one notice Mitch had gone until the class register was called.”

  “That late? Do we know what time Mitch was actually taken?” McQueen asked, thinking about how every minute could make a difference.

  “Five minutes after the bell rang, the security camera show Mitch walking back out of school and to the right.” Hale answered. “He’s then out of the frame and we don’t know what happens. The school’s janitor then closed the school gates and not a minute after that, Mrs. Barrie noticed that Mitch was missing.”

  McQueen clocked this all down in his own notebook. “Was the janitor late closing the gate? It seems oddly coincidental he’s late on the day Mitch is taken?”

  Armstrong rubbed his hand over his rough beard. “I haven’t been able to find the janitor.”

  “He was in the back-supply closet. My men found him stashing some empties rum bottles in a mop bucket.” Hale answer, no anger or outrage leeching out.

  “He was drunk on shift?” McQueen gasped.

  “You sound surprised.” Echo snorted as she picked at dirt beneath her nails. “Dig a bit deeper and I bet he’s got a criminal conviction too.”

  “Is that from your expertise Ms. Headly?” Armstrong droned.

  “That is from my experience with drunks. I can be one myself.” Echo mocked.

  Armstrong rounded on McQueen. “That is the kind of consultant you keep. A drunk?”

  “She’s-…” But McQueen faltered.

  “She has integral knowledge of this case from over the years and is vital.” Hale answered curtly while ignoring the smug look of satisfaction on Echo’s face.

  “Fine.” Armstrong sniffed and McQueen was pleased to see the guy at least look a little uncomeatable. “We need to check the surrounding CCTV cameras and find any witnesses that could tell us more.” He ordered, looking around for a lacky to do the leg work.

  “Fifty bucks says it was a kid.” Echo interjected. “In fact, make it seventy that not only was it a kid, but it was his brother.” Echo smiled with a shrug like she hadn’t just created a theory out of thin air.

  “Echo.” McQueen said slowly, allowing his gaze to flicker to Armstrong. As he suspected, the other detective looked angry; wild theories with no facts made any rational Detective unhappy. “We have no evidence of Johnny being here. He’s missing himself. Why would he come so close to home and not return…?”

  But even as the question slipped from McQueen’s lips, he knew his answer. Dixie.

  Echo must have seen McQueen catch on, because she didn’t throw the answer in his face, instead just rolled her eyes in her normal fashion. “The evidence is that his brother is missing. Two siblings to be kidnapped within such a short time frame is suspicious. As for why it was his bro… Well, it’s how I would have done it.”

  “How you would have done it?” Armstrong’s judgmental tone cut through McQueen like ice. Every time she opened her mouth, Echo was digging herself a bigger hole. However, her mind was a dark and dangerous thing, and McQueen had no doubt it could think in ways they couldn’t.

  “If I wanted to kidnap and sibling, I’d use his brother to do so. I’d hide Jimmy-,”

  “Johnny.” Hale corrected.

  “Whatever. I’d use the kid, Johnny by standing him in some dark bushes, or tucked behind a building. I’d instruc
t him to hide somewhere Michael-,”